UCLA Fielding's Dr. Kristen Choi leading team to study nurse practitioner regulations and child mental healthcare

UCLA Fielding's Dr. Kristen Choi, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, will lead research into children's access to mental healthcare.

"Policymakers and the public are concerned about the state of youth mental health in the United States and the difficulty families experience in trying to access care," said Choi, who also serves as an associate professor and the Audrienne H. Moseley Chair in Nursing at the UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing. "This study will provide new evidence about how to effectively utilize PMHNPs and how nursing regulation can support this."

Choi's team, which includes Dr. Jack Needleman, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management,  has been awarded a nearly $300,000 grant from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to study how state nurse practitioner supervision requirements affect children's access to mental healthcare from Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs).

The two-year study will examine the temporary relaxation of nurse practitioner supervision requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Choi and her team will study how children accessed PMHNP care under different regulatory environments and whether relaxing supervision requirements can play a role in access.

The team also includes co-investigators Dr. Bonnie Zima and Dr. Lauren Wisk, both with UCLA.